Bolivia




                                 Geography


Location:
     Central South America, between Brazil and Chile
Map references:
     South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     1,098,580 sq km
land area:
     1,084,390 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries:
     total 6,743 km, Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km,
     Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
Coastline:
     0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
     none; landlocked
International disputes:
     has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the
     Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio
     Lauca water rights
Climate:
     varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Terrain:
     rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills,
     lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
Natural resources:
     tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron
     ore, lead, gold, timber
Land use:
arable land:
     3%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     25%
forest and woodland:
     52%
other:
     20%
Irrigated land:
     1,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     deforestation contributing to loss of biodiversity; overgrazing; soil
     erosion; desertification; industrial pollution of water supplies used
     for drinking and irrigation
natural hazards:
     flooding in the northeast (March to April)




international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands; signed, but
     not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental
     Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine
     Life Conservation, Tropical Timber
Note:
     landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable
     lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru; cold, thin air of high plateau is
     obstacle to efficient fuel combustion, as well as to physical activity
     by those unaccustomed to it from birth


                                  People


Population:
     7,719,445 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.28% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     32.22 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     8.37 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     73.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     63.31 years
male:
     60.86 years
female:
     65.88 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     4.21 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Bolivian(s)
adjective:
     Bolivian
Ethnic divisions:
     Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed European and Indian ancestry)
     25%-30%, European 5%-15%
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)
Languages:
     Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     78%
male:
     85%
female:
     71%




Labor force:
     3.54 million
by occupation:
     agriculture NA, services and utilities 20%, manufacturing, mining and
     construction 7% (1993)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republica de Bolivia
local short form:
Digraph:
     BL
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     La Paz (seat of government);  Sucre (legal capital and seat of
     judiciary)
Administrative divisions:
     9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca,
     Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Independence:
     6 August 1825 (from Spain)
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Constitution:
     2 February 1967
Legal system:
     based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; has not accepted compulsory
     ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
     18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married);  21 years of age,
     universal and compulsory (single)
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
     President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamente (since 6 August 1993);
     Vice President Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6 August 1993);
     election last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results -
     Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (MNR) 34%, Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN/MIR
     alliance) 20%, Carlos PALENQUE Aviles (CONDEPA) 14%, Max FERNANDEZ
     Rojas (UCS) 13%, Antonio ARANIBAR Quiroga (MBL) 5%; no candidate
     received a majority of the popular vote; Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA won
     a congressional runoff election on 4 August 1993 after forming a
     coalition with Max FERNANDEZ and Antonio ARANIBAR
cabinet:
     Cabinet; appointed by the president from panel proposed by the Senate
Legislative branch:
     bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)




Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados):
     elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results -
     percent of vote by party NA; seats - (130 total) MNR 52, UCS 20, ADN
     17, MIR 17, CONDEPA 13, MBL 7, ARBOL 1, ASD 1, EJE 1, PDC 1
Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores):
     elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results -
     percent of vote by party NA; seats - (27 total) MNR 17, ADN 4, MIR 4,
     CONDEPA 1, UCS 1
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders:
     Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Jaime PAZ Zamora;
     Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), Jorge LANDIVAR; Nationalist
     Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA; Civic
     Solidarity Union (UCS), Max FERNANDEZ Rojas; Conscience of the
     Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos PALENQUE Aviles; Free Bolivia Movement
     (MBL), Antonio ARANIBAR; Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation
     Movement (MRTK-L), Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde; Christian Democrat
     Party (PDC), Jorge AGREDA
Member of:
     AG, ECLAC, FAO, GATT, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,
     IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA,
     LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL,
     WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Andres PETRICEVIC
chancery:
     3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 483-4410 through 4412
FAX:
     (202) 328-3712
consulate(s) general:
     Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Charles R. BOWERS
embassy:
     Banco Popular del Peru Building, corner of Calle Mercado and Calle
     Colon, La Paz
mailing address:
     P. O. Box 425, La Paz, or APO AA 34032
telephone:
     [591] (2) 350251 or 350120
FAX:
     [591] (2) 359875
Flag:
     three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the
     coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of
     Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the
     yellow band


                                  Economy




Overview:
     With its long history of semifeudal social controls, dependence on
     volatile prices for its mineral exports, and bouts of hyperinflation,
     Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and least developed Latin
     American countries. However, Bolivia has experienced generally
     improving economic conditions since the PAZ Estenssoro administration
     (1985-89) introduced market-oriented policies which reduced inflation
     from 11,700% in 1985 to about 20% in 1988. PAZ Estenssoro was followed
     as President by Jaime PAZ Zamora (1989-93) who continued the
     free-market policies of his predecessor, despite opposition from his
     own party and from Bolivia's once powerful labor movement. By
     maintaining fiscal discipline, PAZ Zamora helped reduce inflation to
     9.3% in 1993, while GDP grew by an annual average of 3.25% during his
     tenure. Inaugurated in August 1993, President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA has
     vowed to advance government market-oriented economic reforms he helped
     launch as PAZ Estenssoro's Planning Minister. A major privatization
     bill was passed by the Bolivian legislature in late March 1994.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $15.8 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     2.2% (1993)
National product per capita:
     $2,100 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     9.3% (1993)
Unemployment rate:
     5.8% (1993)
Budget:
revenues:
     $3.19 billion
expenditures:
     $3.19 billion, including capital expenditures of $552.4 million (1994
     est.)
Exports:
     $752 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities:
     metals 35%, natural gas 26%, other 39% (coffee, soybeans, sugar,
     cotton, timber)
partners:
     US 16% , Argentina (1992 est.)
Imports:
     $1.17 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities:
     food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods
partners:
     US 23.3% (1992)
External debt:
     $3.8 billion (January 1994)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 7% (1992); accounts for almost 30% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     865,000 kW
production:
     1.834 billion kWh




consumption per capita:
     250 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco, handicrafts,
     clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces 15% of its
     revenues
Agriculture:
     accounts for about 21% of GDP (including forestry and fisheries);
     principal commodities - coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice,
     potatoes, timber; self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs:
     world's second-largest producer of coca (after Peru) with an estimated
     45,500 hectares under cultivation in 1992; voluntary and forced
     eradication program unable to prevent production from rising to 80,300
     metric tons in 1992 from 78,200 tons in 1989; government considers all
     but 12,000 hectares illicit; intermediate coca products and cocaine
     exported to or through Colombia and Brazil to the US and other
     international drug markets
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $990 million; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89),
     $2.025 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $340 million
Currency:
     1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
     bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 4.5 (March 1994), 4.4604 (November 1993),
     3.9005 (1992), 3.5806 (1991), 3.1727 (1990), 2.6917 (1989), 2.3502
     (1988)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     3,684 km total, all narrow gauge; 3,652 km 1.000-meter gauge and 32 km
     0.760-meter gauge, all government owned, single track
Highways:
total:
     42,815 km
paved:
     1,865 km
unpaved:
     gravel 12,000 km; improved/unimproved earth 28,950 km
Inland waterways:
     10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways
Pipelines:
     crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km
Ports:
     none; maritime outlets are Arica and Antofagasta in Chile, Matarani
     and Ilo in Peru
Merchant marine:
     1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,214 GRT/6,390 DWT




Airports:
total:
     1,395
usable:
     1,188
with permanent-surface runways:
     9
with runways over 3,659 m:
     2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     7
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     165
Telecommunications:
     very poor telephone service for the general population; 144,300
     telephones - 18.7 telephones per 1,000 persons; microwave radio relay
     system being expanded; improved international services; broadcast
     stations - 129 AM, no FM, 43 TV, 68 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean
     INTELSAT earth station


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy includes Marines (La Fuerza Naval
     Boliviana), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force
     ( Policia Nacional de Bolivia)
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 1,835,661; fit for military service 1,194,077; reach
     military age (19) annually 79,580 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $130.48 million; NA% of GDP (1994 est.)